I started Swish of the Curtain in 1991 to give children with a love of performing the chance to work together in a professional, friendly and exciting way. Swish is now a prestigious theatre school for children and young adults aged from 2 to 20 years.

It boasts some of the best tutors in the area in all aspects of the Performing Arts. All of the regular disciplines are catered for, but Swish has a distinctly unique approach. In fact, one of the key differences is that no child is forced to undertake disciplines which are unsuitable to their own abilities or interests. You can choose to take just drama, just dancing, just singing or a mixture of any three! 

All lessons are structured towards a simple aim - we do not teach ‘what’ but ‘how’. Many children can sing a song, speak lines or learn a dance, but this is of little help if they have not been taught ‘how’ to sing, dance and act. By focusing on this methodology, as used by professional full time schools, Swish children learn to think for themselves and become versed in all disciplines so that they will stand out in auditions as not someone who can do something, but someone who can do anything! Prestigious full time schools such as RADA, Mountview, Bristol Old Vic and Arts Educational comment on the unbelievable talent, focus and dedication of our pupils who manage to reach a professional level of training even before they embark on the full time courses at these schools.

I have always believed that children should be given every opportunity to fulfil their dreams and my school is proud to train not just those with natural talent, but those with passion and enthusiasm as well. Yes, it is important that talent is nurtured, but equally important is ‘creating’ the hidden star within every child which enables them to succeed, not only in the industry, but in life itself...their future.

Tina Smith, Principal